Hasseim Hassan has just become a Celtic player. It’s insanely early to criticise him.

I have to say, I am already getting slightly irritated by some of the online criticism being aimed at Haissem Hassan. “He has no end product.” Really?

Already? After a handful of games? Come on.

Sometimes I genuinely wonder what people expect from a new signing. Do we want Celtic to buy a player, throw him into Paradise, give him a few appearances and then immediately demand that every cross, every pass, every shot, every decision and every attacking movement is absolutely perfect?

Because if that is the expectation, we might as well give up now.

Hassan has barely had the chance to settle into Celtic, never mind properly settle into Scottish football, understand his teammates, understand the manager’s demands, understand the movement around him and build the confidence which comes from knowing the players around you almost instinctively.

And yet already there are people looking at his crossing and claiming he has “no end product”. I am not buying it.

I have watched enough football to know that wingers are not machines. No winger gets every cross right. Not one.

You can show me the greatest wingers in football history and I will show you games where they hit the first defender, overhit balls, made the wrong decision, tried something ridiculous or simply got it wrong.

That is football. What matters to me is what the player is capable of doing repeatedly, and Hassan has already shown me enough to make me very interested.

I see a player who wants to attack. I see pace. I see directness. I see a willingness to take a man on. I see movement. I see somebody who wants the ball and is not frightened of trying to make something happen.

And perhaps most importantly, I see raw material. That is what interests me.

Because end product can be developed. Decision-making can improve. Crossing can be coached. Timing can be refined. Movement can become more intelligent. Understanding with teammates comes with minutes on the pitch, and confidence comes with playing.

Suddenly the same winger people were criticising for putting one too many balls into the stand is delivering the cross which wins Celtic a match.

I have seen this story before. Actually, Celtic has seen it before.

Think about James Forrest. I know there was a lot of criticism surrounding Forrest earlier in his career. There were questions about his final ball, his consistency, his decision-making and whether he would ever become the player Celtic supporters hoped he could become. And look what happened.

James Forrest went on to become one of Celtic’s modern greats. He became a player capable of producing moments of extraordinary quality, scoring important goals, winning trophies and giving Celtic supporters memories which will stay with them forever.

Forrest was a magnificent footballer. And I am absolutely not saying Hassan is going to become James Forrest. I am saying it is ridiculous to judge a young winger as though his footballing education ended the day he signed his Celtic contract.

Then there is Aiden McGeady. Another player who divided opinion. Another winger who could frustrate you one minute and absolutely electrify you the next. McGeady had that wonderful Celtic quality of wanting to take responsibility. He wanted the ball. He wanted to beat players. He wanted to create.

Sometimes it worked beautifully. Sometimes it did not. That is what happens when you play attacking football. You cannot demand that a winger constantly takes risks and then scream every time the risk does not come off. You cannot have the magic without accepting some of the mistakes which come with trying to create it.

That is my biggest problem with this “no end product” argument.

What exactly are we supposed to do?

Tell Hassan not to cross because he might miss his target? Tell him not to take defenders on because he might lose the ball? Tell him to stop being adventurous because somebody on social media has decided his statistics are not impressive enough yet?

No. I want the opposite. I want Celtic to encourage him.

I want him to attack. I want him to run at defenders. I want him to try the difficult pass. I want him to attempt the cross. I want him to make mistakes. And then I want the coaching staff to work with him on why those mistakes happened.

Because that is how players improve.

There is something wonderfully exciting about a player arriving at Celtic with things still to learn. I do not need every new signing to arrive as the finished article. Actually, sometimes I would rather Celtic sign the player with enormous potential and help him become something special.

Hassan has already shown glimpses, and glimpses are enough for me at this stage. I do not want to judge him after five minutes, five games or five crosses. I want to see him after months of working with his teammates. I want to see what happens when he understands exactly where his striker is going to run, when he knows the midfielder behind him is going to cover his position and when he has the confidence to make the decision instinctively rather than thinking about it for half a second.

That half a second can change everything.

And crossing? Please. Crossing is a teachable skill. You can improve technique. You can improve delivery. You can improve timing. You can improve your understanding of where teammates want the ball.

What you cannot easily teach is that natural desire to attack. You cannot manufacture pace. You cannot simply install bravery. You cannot coach a player into suddenly becoming somebody who genuinely enjoys taking defenders on.

Hassan appears to have some of those qualities naturally. That is why I am interested.

So, I am going to be patient.

Actually, more than patient, I am going to enjoy watching the player develop.

Because he will get better. His crosses will start finding their targets. His decision-making will improve. His confidence will grow. Celtic’s attacking players will begin understanding him and developing the partnerships that make good teams. That raw winger we are watching now will start turning those flashes into consistent performances.

Then suddenly all those people complaining about his “end product” will be talking about something else entirely.

And let me say something else.

If Haissem Hassan ends up being half as good as Aiden McGeady and James Forrest, Celtic will have done very, very well. I mean that.

I am not demanding that he becomes McGeady. I am not demanding that he becomes Forrest. I am saying that if Celtic can develop a winger who reaches even half the level those two reached at their best, then I will happily take that outcome.

Because those are two players who entertained fans. Two players who made things happen. Two players who understood that football is about taking risks.

And Celtic needs players like that.

We do not want a team full of safe footballers. We do not want eleven players terrified of making a mistake. We want players who look at a defender and think: I am going to have you. That is the mentality we want from Hassan.

Let him learn. Let him make mistakes. Let him cross the ball into the wrong place occasionally. Let him lose the ball. Let him frustrate us. And then let him come back next week and try again. Because that is development. That is football.

And that is how you find out whether the raw material can become something special. I would much rather watch Hassan trying to create something than watch a winger hiding because he is frightened of being criticised.

I am keeping an eye on this one. Because I can already see the ingredients. And sometimes Celtic supporters need to remember something very simple: we are watching the beginning of the story, not the ending.

So, let’s stop judging Haissem Hassan as though he has already played 200 games for Celtic. He has not. He has barely started. Give the man time. Give him coaching. Give him confidence. Give him the freedom to attack.

Then let’s see what happens.

Because if that raw talent develops, if the final ball improves, if the confidence grows and if those flashes become a regular part of his game, maybe one day we will look back at these early complaints about “no end product” and laugh.

I sincerely hope we do. And I have a feeling I might be laughing quite loudly.

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